During the NATO summit in Vilnius on the 11th and 12th July, NATO Leaders discussed critical challenges in enhancing NATO’s deterrence and defence and fostering closer ties between NATO and Ukraine. An important topic on the agenda of the NATO summit was broader security challenges, including climate security. In parallel to the summit, NATO Public Forum organised a High-Level Dialogue on Climate titled “The Urgency of Now: Collaborating for Climate Action”.

On 6 June 2023, the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric station was destroyed. The event has highlighted the extensive environmental destruction caused since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s war of aggression has severely damaged the country’s ecosystems, and extensive reconstruction is urgently needed — but this needs to be done sustainably.

On Tuesday (11 July 2023), NATO released three major reports contributing to Allies’ increased understanding of the impact of climate change on NATO’s strategic environment, missions and operations, and the adaptation of their armed forces required to maintain operational effectiveness.

Report 1: NATO Climate Change and Security Impact Assessment

The countries of the Middle East, especially Arabic-speaking ones, are among the world’s most exposed states to the accelerating impacts of human-caused climate change. But the consequences will be felt unevenly across the region.

Sixteen years after the first United Brief Points Nations Security Council debate on climate change and security, there is still no agreement on how the Council should engage with the issue. A major reason for the stalemate is enduring claims by a minority of Council members that there is little scientific foundation for connecting climate change with security concerns. Countering this view, we show that the scientific literature offers ample evidence that climate change can constitute a real threat to international peace and security.

South Sudan is home to one of the world’s worst hunger crises. Approximately 8.3 million people, or over 70 per cent of the population, face severe food insecurity. This food insecurity is an outcome of multiple compounding factors but violent conflict is a primary driver. Violent conflict has ravaged South Sudan since its independence from Sudan in 2011. A civil war was fought in 2013–2018, mainly along ethnic lines but driven by a desire to control the country’s oil wealth.

Introduction

Ethiopia is in the midst of one of its most severe droughts in the last forty years. Soaring temperatures, coupled with six consecutive seasons of failed rains, have given rise to extreme drought conditions, with the situation worsening over the last few months.

Central Asia faces acute water shortages. In order to address these more effectively water sharing arrangements that are based on the Soviet era agreements need to incorporate the impacts of climate change and changing water politics in Afghanistan, which could further exacerbate existing tensions in the region.

This week, the EU adopted a new strategy laying out how the EU will address the growing impact of climate change and environmental degradation in the fields of peace, security, and defence. The document, which is officially called a Joint Communication was adopted by the EU executive arm and diplomatic service, the European Commission and European External Action Service.